James Redeker, commissioner of the state's Department of Transportation, calls on Amtrak to share in responsibility to rail safety and maintenance during a Commerce Committee hearing chaired by Sen. Richard Blumenthal Wednesday, June 19, 2013 in Washington, D.C. The committee examined high-profile rail accidents, including the deadly May rail collision in Bridgeport.
Photo: Contributed Photo, Hearst Newspapers/Nicole Narea

James Redeker, commissioner of the state's Department of...

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Amtrak is not contributing its "fair share" to rail maintenance as co-chair the Commerce Committee hearing on rail safety Wednesday, June 19, 2013 in Washington, D.C. The committee examined high-profile rail accidents, including the deadly May rail collision in Bridgeport.
Photo: Contributed Photo, Hearst Newspapers/Nicole Narea

WASHINGTON -- Metro-North track inspectors checking the New Haven Line on May 15 described weak ballast, erosion, problems with ties, unstable rails and loose embankments on the line where two passenger trains crashed in Bridgeport two days later, injuring 76 people.

Federal investigators are focused on track failure as the cause of the May 17 derailment of an eastbound Metro-North train that was hit by a westbound train 20 seconds later.

One of the defects in the inspectors' report was: "Track 4, Catenary 734 insulated joint, hanging ties, pumping under load," referring to vertical movement of the track when a train passed over it. This was at the site of the derailment on May 17.

The handwritten report from the Metro-North inspectors riding a "hi-rail'' vehicle and visually checking the four tracks added up to a "searing indictment'' of track quality in the area, Blumenthal said.

The inspectors' report said they took immediate action to correct one "FRA defect,'' a cracked joint bar used to connect two sections of rail.

After the derailment and crash, sections of rail were removed and shipped to the NTSB materials laboratory in Washington for further examination.

The Friday, evening rush-hour crash snarled travel in the Northeast Corridor and led to a five-day suspension of Amtrak service between New York and Boston.

Metro-North issued a statement late Wednesday that described the May 15 inspection report covering a 30-mile section of track as having been "completed in accordance with FRA maintenance and inspection guidelines.''

The statement said the FRA defect that was fixed by the inspectors was 2 1/2 miles from the site of the derailment and unrelated to the accident.

On the "pumping" track movement noted by the inspectors, Metro-North said FRA rules require that track inspectors take note "of ANY deviations to the basic track structure.

"Vertical movement is governed under FRA standards and the allowable limits depend on a variety of factors. Track inspectors are trained in these factors and have the experience to make these determinations," the statement said. "On May 15, the track inspectors for that area found this 'pumping' to be within the allowable range, meaning it did not require immediate, emergency repairs.''

Deborah Hersman, chair of the NTSB and a witness at the Senate hearing, saluted the engineer on the westbound train for taking emergency action to stop his train when he saw the derailed train tilting onto his track.

"He saved many lives,'' Hersman said, because he was able to slow the train's speed from 70 mph to 23 mph.

James P. Redeker, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, told the hearing that investment levels in the Northeast Corridor -- the rail system between Washington and Boston -- "fall far short of the levels needed to address repair backlogs and meet future needs.''

Redeker noted that a 2010 financial analysis estimated that the corridor needs some $2.6 billion a year to achieve "state of good repair.''

The repair backlog in Connecticut that needs to be addressed in the near term includes "catenary replacement, four major moveable bridges between Greenwich and New Haven, as well as numerous fixed bridges on the line,'' Redeker said. A critical priority is replacing the signal system, he added.

Redeker said the state owns the rails from the Greenwich-New York border to New Haven, but added that Connecticut law "requires all the users of rail systems pay an allocated fair share" of maintenance costs. In the past 10 years, the state has invested over $3.2 million in that line while Amtrak has invested only $64 million.

The NTSB is not expected to issue a final "probable cause" finding on the Bridgeport accident until next year.

In its investigation, the board has collected photos, video, reports and records, and other evidence; completed mechanical inspections of the rail cars, the track and signal system; interviewed several Metro-North employees, witnesses and first responders; and documented the accident site.